New development coming to Au Gres

Council approves moving VFW monument

Au GRES — A company bringing a new facility and investment to Au Gres will be announcing its plans in a public meeting April 29, City Manager Pat Killingbeck said.

Killingbeck declined to mention the company by name, but said it would be showcasing its building site plan during the meeting, which will be attended by local health professionals.

“We want to get behind them,” she said. “Not only will this bring employment to the city, but investment in the community.”

She said this has been in the works for about a year before reaching this point, but she could not reveal any additional information before the April 29 meeting, which is set for 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The Au Gres City Council also approved a motion to move the VFW memorial monument from the old VFW hall into the city, though the council decided to hold off on choosing where to relocate it.

“The VFW hall is for sale and is closed,” Councilman Keith Edmonds said. “We want to honor our veterans, so we’re looking at putting it at the corner near the Chamber of Commerce.”

Killingbeck said the corner is owned by the VFW, but is a small space. She added the new developers coming into Au Gres are interested in having a veterans memorial on their property, so she proposed holding off on selecting a location until they can get more information. The council agreed with her stance in a unanimous vote.

The city also approved extending its 180-day marijuana moratorium in the city for an additional 180 days. Killingbeck said the city attorney had recommended putting the moratorium into place nearly six months ago until the state legislature can better define the existing law, adding it is currently at odds with federal marijuana laws. Under a ballot proposal approved by voters in 2008, it is legal to use and distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes in the state of Michigan.

“This is just a process that we need to follow until they are in compliance, so that federal law and state law are not in noncompliance with each other,” she said. “We don’t have much control over that, so we’re waiting for the legislature to do their job.”

Killingbeck said she had no idea on what moves, if any, legislators in Lansing were taking regarding the state’s medical marijuana law.